The present invention relates generally to the field of wireless communications, and more particularly to an improved method and system for managing transmission resources in a wireless communications network.
Wireline and wireless Internet protocol (IP) networks have traditionally supported a best effort delivery of all traffic. To support enhanced services, multiple types, or classes, of services have been established and assigned certain quality of service (QoS) parameters that manage queues for each service type. The QoS parameters include delay, jitter, error rates, and throughput. The QoS parameters can be provisioned on a per IP connection or per flow basis through mechanisms such as resource reservation protocol (RSVP) or can be provisioned on aggregate flow which are classified into service classes. Internet service providers (ISPs) can utilize the service classes, their associate QoS behavior and QoS provisioning to provide multiple service offerings to their business and consumer customers.
The IP QoS architecture provides congestion control tools that work closely with traffic shaping, admission control and coordinated policing tools to control and shape the traffic of various IP flows and to insure QoS behavior for each class of service. The goal of congestion control is to adapt the sending rate of data at its source to match the bandwidth available at a network node. Thus, as the bandwidth availability or the demand for bandwidth changes in a network, the data sources are controlled to adapt their sending rate to the bandwidth changes.
Traffic shaping and policing are performed at the network nodes. Traffic shaping is typically implemented using a token, or leaky bucket. The token bucket is sized in accordance with a burst rate of the traffic and is filled with tokens at a long-term average rate of the available supply or bandwidth. Traffic is policed by requiring packets to check-out tokens from the bucket for transmission.
To support flows having disparate QoS parameters, multiple token buckets have been used in a network node to police and control the disparate QoS flows. Each token bucket is sized and configured at a rate corresponding to the QoS parameters of an associated flow. While the use of multiple token buckets supports disparate flow types, the token buckets are not sensitive to the characteristics of the radio frequency (RF) wireless environment in which different flow types have different impact on the media/physical layer and have a different interference impact based on location of the flow.
The present invention provides an improved method and system for managing transmission resources in a wireless communications network that substantially eliminate or reduce problems and disadvantages associated with previous methods and systems. In particular, transmission power usage and/or inter geo-location interference are taken into account in allocating transmission resources in a wireless network in order to effectively police, shape and control traffic flows.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a method and system for managing transmission resources in a wireless communications network includes receiving an internet protocol (IP) or other data packet. A duration time for transmission of the packet is determined. A power level for transmission of the packet over the time duration is also determined. A wireless resource impact is determined for the packet based on the time duration and the power level. Transmission resources are allocated based on the wireless resource impact.
More specifically, in accordance with a particular embodiment of the present invention, the wireless resource impact is a sector impact representing the impact of transmitting the packet in a sector of the wireless network. In this embodiment, a geographic interference impact of transmitting the packet in the sector is determined for a neighboring or other sector based on the sector impact. A network impact is determined based on and accounts for the sector impact and the geographic interference impact. Transmission resources are allocated based on the network impact.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, a method and system for managing transmission resources in a wireless communications network includes receiving a packet and providing a token bucket comprising a plurality of tokens representing power available for transmission of the packet. A transmission token is generated representing a time duration for transmission of the packet and a power level for transmission of the packet over the time duration. The sufficiency of available tokens in the token bucket for the transmission token is determined and the packet transmitted if sufficient tokens are available.
Technical advantages of the present invention include providing an improved method and system for managing transmission resources in a wireless communications network. In particular, the varying impact of transmitting data packets on a wireless physical layer is accounted for in allocating queuing, forwarding and other transmission resources in the wireless network. The varying impact may be determined based on the time, power, and geo location constraints of the packet on the physical layer. Thus, conflicts between calls or other types of flows and the resulting excessive interference impact within the system due to over allocation are minimized.
Another technical advantage of the present invention includes providing an improved multi-media wireless network. In particular, the network employs a multi-dimensional allocation system that allows multiple users and multiple services types with differing bandwidth requirements to use a shared wireless transmission resource without conflict. The multiple service types may be different quality of service (QoS) classes such as premium, assured, and best effort.
Yet another technical advantage of the present invention includes providing an improved method and system for controlling, shaping, and policing data flows in a wireless network. In particular, the full impact of packet transmission on the wireless network is evaluated in allocating bandwidth resources. As a result, traffic flows may be more accurately policed and shaped to account for limitations of the wireless system.
Yet another technical advantage of the present invention includes providing a method and system to account for the specific impact of each data packet on the physical layer resource in a wireless network. In particular, transmission power for the packet is taken into account when evaluating the impact of packet transmission in a cell site or other location of the wireless network. In addition, impact on neighboring and other cell sites is also accounted for to conform the packet to specific physical layer traffic characteristics of the network.
Still another technical advantage of the present invention includes providing a multiple dimension token and token bucket for allocating resources in a wireless network. In particular, each packet may be represented by a transmission token specifying packet transmission time in a first dimension, transmission power in a second dimension, and interference impact on neighboring and other cell sites in a third dimension. This multi-dimensional token fully accounts for the impact of the packet on the physical wireless system. In addition, the multiple dimension token bucket may be filled at a static or dynamic rate based on system loading or available bandwidth.
Other technical advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art from the following figures, description, and claims.